Arriving early for Rick Steves Rome Tour

If the tour doesn't go to Ostia Antica, you can do it on your own quite easily using public transit. By getting a reasonably early start you should be able to spend plenty of time on site and still be back in Rome itself by mid afternoon. Google it and see if it holds any interest for you.

If Victor Emmanuel Monument isn’t included, make your way to the top for great views and go to the little church there. You’ll also have great views of the Roman Forum. Also, go to St Peters Basilica (which I’m sure will be on your tour) but this time climb to the top of cupola. It’s over 300 steps but the experience is so worth it. And have lots of gelato. Please pick up the RS Rome book for great suggestions.

My vote is for a cooking class. It's an experience you won't be able to replicate outside of Italy, and it's just plain fun and relaxing. (And there's food! And usually wine!!!)

Hope you have a great time!

I'll suggest a food tour + cooking with Walks of Italy. Small group of 14 or less, English-speaking guide, fun/informative/lively commentary and info on multi-stops at the market with plenty of tastings and a finale of making our own pizza for lunch was my experience in May 2016. To me, well worth the price of admission. Delizioso and molto Romano.

Theresa

It does look like Ostia Antica is included in the tour. I agree that heading out on a day long tour would be more than I would want to do after my International flight!

I enjoyed the Capitoline Museum which has a great terrace cafe area and so much to see in it's 2 buildings. (I think there were just 2 buildings connected by an underground corridor??).

Prior to my first RS tour, Heart of Italy I did the National Museum of Rome which is near the Termini altho I missed getting to the separate museum with the Baths of Diocletian. I also wanted to see the Baths of Carracalla but missed that as well.

I had booked a tour along with transportation from the airport and the guy took us to the Aventine Keyhole which we managed to find again. That is uphill from the Circus Maximus, thru the rose garden and up to the top. Looking thru the keyhole you see St Peters. Very cool.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_del_Priorato_di_Malta

There are a number of churches you don't do including: Saint John Lateran (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archbasilica_of_St._John_Lateran) , Santa Maria Maggiore (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_di_Santa_Maria_Maggiore) and Saint Peter in Chains/San Pietro in Vincoli (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Pietro_in_Vincoli)

I follow Sarah Murdoch's blog - she is an Italy guide for Rick and she also has some great ideas! She did an interesting tour of not well-known churches and some of them sounded amazing- altho I did a quick search on her site and can't quite come up with that post.

https://adventureswithsarah.net/city-guide-to-rome/

There is SO much to do!

The itinerary includes Ostia Antica and covers some of the Appia Antica, and I'm seeing 3 free afternoons and some evenings on this tour.

For one thing, I'll send you up the Aventine to Rome's municipal rose garden (Roseto Comunale ) - which will be in bloom in May - and lovely and very old Santa Sabina. You'll get a great view of the back of the Palatine from the rose gardens, and there's a little orange garden beside the church that affords another really nice panorama of Rome. You can also peer through the keyhole of the gate at the Priory of Malta at a perfectly aligned view of St Peter's dome.

Rose Garden:
http://www.turismoroma.it/cosa-fare/roseto-comunale?lang=en
http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/rome/roseto.html
(ignore the October dates/open hours: it'll be be open in May)

Santa Sabina:
http://www.060608.it/en/cultura-e-svago/luoghi-di-culto-di-interesse-storico-artistico/chiese-cattoliche/basilica-di-santa-sabina-all-aventino.html

Random info on the keyhole:
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/italy/articles/the-story-behind-the-aventine-keyhole/

All of these are free. :O)

Additionally, there are endless, endless glorious churches to explore. I would make sure to hit San Giovanni in Laterano, Santa Maria Maggiore, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, Santa Maria del Popolo and, oh, too many others! I'm sure your tour will include the Pantheon.

We did the Twilight Trastevere and Testaccio Evening food tours with Eating Italy and enjoyed them both very much. You get some history of the areas, as well as the food. Small groups, both guides were very engaging and you get to taste a variety of foods.

We did the Twilight Trastevere and Testaccio Evening food tours

The RS tour includes a Trastevere (daytime) food tour but if food is a "thing", maybe the Testaccio tour is of interest.

The Trastevere Eating Italy food tour in the evening was completely different than the daytime tour in the RS Rome tour.

The evening tour is longer, has more variety in food and drinks, more interaction with shop owners, and -- when you consider what you're eating and drinking and the information you learn from the local guide -- is an incredible value, in my opinion. I would highly recommend it even if one were to take a food tour as part of the RS tour.

If you want to travel a short distance, the Villa D’Este in Tivoli is a great half day visit. The gardens, fountains and other water features are spectacular and the Villa is quite interesting. A full day trip to Orvieto will give you the feeling of a medieval hilltop town with a village vs. city vibe. It would be a totally different feeling than visiting Rome and it’s an easy 1 1/4 hour train journey from Rome.

wow, thank you all for the wonderful ideas! This gives me so much to work with.

Bookmarking this thread.

We did the Walks of Italy food tour also. I think it started at Campo di Fiori. Fun plus lunch. A friend did the evening tour to Testacio and liked it also—more of a foodie tour.